A sudden fire became a "nightmare" for residents of the Bronx in New York City, USA.
On the morning of January 9th local time, a fire broke out in a high-rise apartment building in , Bronx, and thick smoke engulfed the 19-story building. New York City authorities sent more than 200 firefighters to participate in the rescue.
As of now, the fire has injured more than 60 people, dozens of people have been taken to hospitals, and 19 people, including 9 children, died. AP pointed out that this is the deadliest fire in New York City in more than 30 years.
It is worth noting that the resident identities in this building. According to CNN, the building is home to a large number of Muslim residents, many of which are African immigrants. New York Mayor Eric Adams said he hopes that those who are in urgent need of help can stand up calmly and promise not to share their identity information with law enforcement agencies such as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau.
New York encountered a "darkest moment" on a leisure Sunday
New York City's 19-storey apartment building is located at 333 East 181st Street, Bronx. This monotonous brown building stands near the intersection and overlooks Webster Avenue, one of the main roads of the Bronx .
On the morning of January 9th local time, it was originally a lazy day off. The weather was cold and the streets were still gray. The residents in the building woke up from their sleep one after another, and housework followed one after another.
28-year-old Wesley Patterson has lived here for more than 20 years. He was also preparing to start this very special day like everyone else.
Around 11 a.m., Patterson was washing in the bathroom. Suddenly his girlfriend came hurriedly to knock on the door, saying that she had just seen flames emerged from the window in the apartment next door.
On January 9, 2022, local time, a fire broke out in a high-rise apartment building in the Bronx, New York City, USA, and rescue workers are helping residents escape. Photo/IC photo
As soon as the speech ended, thick black smoke began to flood Patterson's apartment. In just a few seconds, the black smoke seriously hindered vision, and Patterson could hardly see his girlfriend running to the other side of the room.
"We just want to try to breathe," Patterson told New York Times . Although the windows were hot to the touch, he wanted to open the window and breathe fresh air. Unfortunately, things went against my wishes. What poured in from the window was not fresh air, but thick smoke. Patterson had to slam the window and then shut it down.
Thick smoke attacked the residents of the building almost door to door.
Parents and children tried to escape from the suddenly dark and unventilated room, the corridor was filled with smoke, people's coughs everywhere, and neighbors passing by became irrecognizable in the thick smoke.
Three minutes after receiving the alarm call, firefighters from the New York City Fire Department arrived at the scene. After seeing the first firefighters, Patterson opened the window again and shouted "Please save us." A few minutes later, rescuers came to Patterson's window and rescued him and his family.
Not everyone is as lucky as Patterson. According to New York City Fire Chief Daniel Nigro, the victims were found in almost every stairwell, when their heartbeat and breathing had stopped.
So far, the fire has injured more than 60 people, dozens of people have been taken to hospitals, and 19 people, including 9 children.
The heating equipment failure caused a fire
From outside the building, in the main fire unit, the only thing you can see is a big dark hole, and the nearby windows have been blown away.
traced the source and found that the fire began with a failure of the heating equipment. Negro said preliminary investigations found that heating equipment in a duplex apartment between the second and third floors of the building had malfunctioned, and the fire engulfed the entire room, and then smoke quickly spread to the entire building.
Smoke directly affects the speed of residents' escape.Sandra Clayton, 61, told the Associated Press that the smoke in the corridor was dark and thick, and she could not see anything, so she could only grop and run down the stairs, surrounded by panic crying and screaming.
Local time on January 9, 2022, New York City, USA, Governor Cathy Hotchul (left), New York Mayor Eric Adams (center) and U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (right) spoke outside the disaster building. Photo/IC photo
Nigro said that due to the heavy smoke, many people cannot escape at all. Luis Rosa, a 13th floor resident, pointed out that after opening the door, he found that the smoke completely blocked his sight and could not even see the end of the corridor. He was worried that he would suffocate halfway downstairs and could only wait in place.
In fact, before the death toll was announced, local officials said that the fire was one of the most terrifying fires in the memory of local people. Adams even called it "one of the worst fires in modern history in New York City."
The fire has had the highest death toll in New York City since the "Happy Land" social club fire in 1990. According to the Associated Press, a man had an argument with his ex-girlfriend and was kicked out of the club and was set on fire, killing 87 people.
This fire also exposed potential problems in the United States in housing maintenance.
Democratic Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democratic Congressman who represents the region, said in an interview with the " Washington Post " that there is a "crisis" in the United States in terms of housing maintenance, and many buildings in his area lack basic fire safety equipment.
"There is no guarantee that fire alarms in every apartment or public area will work properly," Torris added, and most buildings do not have sprinkler system , so homes in the Bronx are more susceptible to devastating fires than other homes in New York City.
According to city housing regulations, apartment buildings should be equipped with doors that can be automatically closed to slow fires and smoke from one unit to other parts of the apartment.
In this fire, Negro pointed out that it was precisely because the doors leading to the apartment and the stairwell were open and did not close automatically that the smoke quickly spread to the entire building. Therefore, Torris accused the actual conditions of the building of the building of the law of the law.
However, the owner of the apartment building refuted this, saying that the building's automatic closing doors comply with the New York City housing law and there is no public violation of the regulations.
The fire hit the immigrant community hard
Another thing worth noting is the identity of the resident in this 19-story apartment building.
According to CNN, a large number of Muslim residents live in the building where the fire broke out, many of whom are from Gambia, West Africa.
Given the particularity of the resident’s identity, Adams pointed out that one of the current top priorities is to ensure that Islamic funeral rituals and culture are respected, followed by seeking connections between leaders of Muslim community and local residents.
In addition, some immigrants or do not have legal identities. In response to this situation, Adams tried to appease residents, expressing his hope that those who request government assistance would stand up calmly and that their identity information would not be handed over to law enforcement agencies such as the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Bureau.
On January 9, 2022, local time, a fire broke out in a high-rise apartment building in the Bronx, New York City, USA, and rescuers held the child rescued from the scene. Photo/IC photo
Currently, the affected residents who have been displaced have been placed in hotels or other accommodations. Christina Farrell, the first deputy commissioner of emergency management in New York City, told CNN that it temporarily provides residents with warm space, as well as essential food, water and other necessities, and will also set up a special service center on January 10 local time.
New York State will provide financial support to the people affected by the fire. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said a compensation fund would be established to provide housing, funerals and other essentials for fire victims.
In addition, assistance may be provided at the federal government level.U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the federal government is reviewing various forms of aid, including housing, tax aid and immigration aid.
The building's joint venture "Bronx Park Phase III Preservation" was also shocked by the loss of life caused by the tragedy, promising to cooperate with other departments such as fire protection to cooperate with follow-up investigations and help residents recover from the fire.
However, it is not yet certain when residents will be able to return to their apartment homes.
Beijing News reporter Luan Ruoxi
Editor Zhang Lei Proofreading Liu Yue
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